


A Structure that Connects Two Points Over a Untravellable Location

by CelticGHardy



Series: Family Path of Blood [4]
Category: The Following
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-18 10:09:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1424620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelticGHardy/pseuds/CelticGHardy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beth Parker's murder opened up some areas that the father and son pair need to discuss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Structure that Connects Two Points Over a Untravellable Location

**Author's Note:**

> Set between 2x07 and 2x08 in the FBI Family universe, since unlike the show, Mike had to plan a funeral.

Max had been, more or less, ordered to go back to Ryan's rather than head back to her own. She understood her uncle would want to keep her around for the next couple of days. Reactionary response, he had almost lost her. After grabbing some clothes from her place and showering, she was waiting for him to come home. Sipping tea, she heard the knocking and walked over to see who it was. She saw Ryan in the view screen, but Mike was a surprise. And not a good one, as she opened the door and took in his crumbling exterior. “What happened?”

“Lily,” he grumbled, guiding Mike in. Max took over and moved him over to the couch, yanking on his jacket to make him take it off. “They killed Beth.”

She closed her eyes. Beth had been one of the last connections to Aunt Debra for Mike. Since her funeral, they had been talking a little more, exchanging stories with her. Now she was gone, and he wouldn't be able to learn more about her from her childhood.

“It's my fault,” Mike mumbled. Max stared at him before looking over at Ryan, who had a guilt-ridden face. “It's my fault. It's all my fault. Everything is all my fault.”

“Mike, stop,” Ryan pleaded. He had heard this too much and it was hurting his heart to hear his son say it.

“It's my fault everything happened,” he repeated, “If I hadn't beaten Luke up, then she wouldn't have sent that killer after Max, she wouldn't have....”

“Michael!” he roared, and it's enough to stop him from breaking down, gaining his attention with shock. He framed his head with both his hands. “It is not your fault. We had no idea Lily would do that. She should have been running, keeping her last child safe, not going after revenge.”

“But, it's still my fault,” he said, “I should have known she would have done something like this, Carroll had the same type of thing planned after we got back Joey. I should have known she was close to the edge and what I did pushed her over. It's my fault she went after Beth. It's my fault she's dead!” He started crying again. Ryan wanted to wrap him up, hold him until he could convince him that it wasn't his fault.

Max had another idea. Gently moving Ryan out of the way, she bent down in front of Mike and smacked him.

“Max!” he snapped, about ready to intervene.

Mike had stopped crying, again, going back to the shock that he held when Ryan yelled at him. “You're an idiot,” she stated. “You know Lily is a fucking bitch. Most would think that just going after me would have been enough for the both of you. So, your guard was down when I came up safe. All right?” He didn't nod or shake when she said it, just dropped his head. “Besides, what do you think would have happened if you had just arrested him? Do you think she wouldn't have killed Beth then? No, they would have done something worse. Kidnap you, kidnap me, kidnap Ryan for leverage to get him back.”

It took him a minute to get something out. “It would have been better if she had gone after me instead. Beth was innocent in all of this. Why did she go after her and not me?” he babbled.

“Because it hurts worse,” Ryan said, holding a glass of water. Max didn't notice him leave to get it and come back. “Come on, drink this.” He had to work the glass into his hands, but Mike took over and started sipping slowly from it. She noticed him also laying down blankets and pillows that he conjured up while she had been trying to talk Mike down. Ryan turned to Max. “I don't know which couch you want to take. Either that, or you could have the bed, I'll take a couch....”

She stopped him, “I'm fine with the couch in the other room. Mike probably wouldn't be able to lie down on it comfortably.” She took a blanket and pillow for herself before dragging herself to the other room. Ryan pulled the glass from Mike's hand when he was done and prodded him into taking off a few layers. He placed them on the floor along side. They would need to go get his stuff from wherever he had it stored tomorrow.

“Get some sleep, okay?” he muttered, standing up and planning on going to his bedroom to toss and turn.

His arm was grabbed. Ryan looked down and saw Mike staring up at him. He had a painful flash to a five year old that didn't know why his father was leaving right before he was set to start school. “Don't go,” he pleaded, not looking forward to the sleep he was going to have.

Ryan sat back down and settled himself in the middle. Mike shifted against his left shoulder, burying his face away from the light. He turned on his TV and switched to a station that was playing some type of cartoon. It took a few minutes for Max to rejoin them, taking his right shoulder while wrapped in a blanket. “Turn it to Adult Swim,” she mumbled.

“Not tonight, no Robot Chicken,” he countered.

“I wanna watch Paradise Rising.”

“That thing is fucking....”

“How about we watch a movie?” Ryan ended, turning it to Syfy for an original movie involving extreme weather. At some point, he heard deep breathing from the both of them and resigned himself to waking up with a creak in his back.

-

Mike sneaked out about four days later.

Dad had gone off somewhere, he thought he heard something about AA. Max was hanging out with her boyfriend, something she hadn't done since the beginning of this thing. Both of them wanted him to stay at the apartment when they weren't around. They thought Lily would come after him, either in retaliation for beating up Luke or because the plot failed against Max. He stayed. Mike watched a few things on his own Netflix account, played a few games. Slept because he wasn't getting enough at night. 

He was going crazy. A part of him wanted to be back in, finding Lily and Mark to put a bullet in their skulls. He knew that he wouldn't be allowed back yet. This was worse than Mom. A part of him want to wallow in misery. That's the part he was going to feed.

New York had no shortages of bars and he found one that was serving in the afternoon. Mike started off with a beer that he downed quickly before moving to his second. He was on his third and decided to have a whiskey chaser with it. Now, he was gratefully buzzing and on his way to the peaceful drunkenness that he had been achieving at home for the last few months.

He didn't hear his phone go off, getting another beer and making sure he didn't waste any of it slopping it around. So, the hand on his shoulder startled him a little, and he turned to see Ryan and Max both glaring at him. “Oops?” he slurred.

Ryan dropped a few bills to pay and they dragged him out to Max's car. “You puke, you're paying for the cleaning,” she warned. He kept his mouth shut and closed his eyes to avoid the movement of everything outside before she started driving. He only realized they had stopped back at the apartment building when the back door was opened. Mike slumped on the couch when he was helped upstairs and buried his face in the pillow. He barely heard the two talking, _probably about me_ , before someone left and he was left with Ryan dropping down in the chair by the couch.

“What the hell's wrong with you, Mike?” he whispered.

He probably hadn't meant for it to be heard, but Mike shifted from peaceful drunkenness to anger and hurt. He forced himself up to face the man. “What's wrong with me?” he snapped, “What's wrong with me?! For the past fucking year, I've been in misery, over Mom, over the damn case, over the possible loss of my fucking job. I can't talk to a therapist because it's possible that me talking about you shooting a handcuffed man would get you thrown in jail. Even if that was kept under wraps, there's still me losing my job over anything that happened, between the kidnapping and Joe in that room and my reactions, the nightmares I have. And I couldn't talk to you, because I thought that it would be bad. You were getting your life together. But you were the only person I could talk to and I couldn't, so I fell into _your_ old habits to keep myself fucking sane.”

Ryan wanted to stop him, but it was hurting him just as much as Mike was getting it out, but he continued before he could move. “And then the subway was attacked, and they brought me back. And they tried to bring you back, but you didn't come back. So, I'm trying to help the FBI investigate while you're running around and interfering with everything. And you're evasive, you're not telling me anything. Because you don't trust the FBI and by extension me. And I find out about your fucking room, your investigation that you've had going the past year. So, the real reason why we weren't talking was because you had that damn shit going on and you didn't want me to know. Instead, you either brought in Max or she found out and offered her help. And she's helping you because she doesn't have a lot of us left. So, I can't get her help into stopping you.”

His anger's bleeding out, and the hurt and pain's still there, but he wiped his eyes and tried keeping up the anger. “And you still don't get what's wrong with me? You go to Max for help over me. You don't tell me anything. I have fucking nightmares about everything in the fucking case and I have been diagnosed with PTSD with no one to talk to.” The anger's completely gone, and he's tearing up because the other emotions were getting to the surface. Ryan moved over, but Mike hit him before he had a chance to touch him or do anything. “You don't trust me! You're cutting me out like you did after your stabbing and Mom and I can't talk to you and I'm going to be alone like I was before because you won't fucking....” He sobbed, the emotions and breaks finally showing.

His father grabbed him when his arm flailed to hit him again, wrapping his arms around him, because holding was the only thing he could think of. “You left me alone! You left me alone, you're leaving me out, you don't really care about me or Max, it was all about hunting Carroll and getting your revenge, and it hurts, it fucking hurts,” Mike cried, hitting a couple of more times before clinging to him, hands gripping the back of his shirt and muffling his sobs into his father's chest.

Ryan failed.

He had been so focused on getting revenge that he hadn't done what Debra had wanted. He had blocked Mike out, leaving him to his turmoil while he created more for him to be dropped into when the second round began. Still playing loose with his life, not caring over what happened as long as he managed to bring someone down. The gunshot wound still stung, and it reminded him that there were people that would lose him if he continued what he was doing.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered, trying to keep his own emotions down, “I'm sorry. I'm sorry.” A couple of tears slid down and hit the top of Mike's head. “I fucked up. I wanted revenge for Claire and Debra and I didn't care about anything else. I kept you away because I thought it was better than bringing you back in. You deserved to not be immersed in it and I didn't realize that you would be in this much pain.” He started silently crying alongside him. “I'm sorry.”

They managed to calm down an hour later. Mike had showered, changed, and was now nursing a sports drink while a bottle of water sat on the table. Ryan made himself decaf and sat next to him. Neither knew what to do or say. It was shaky for the both of them, repressed feelings lingering around them.

“I thought the family curse was just a way to explain things,” Mike muttered, staring at his drink. Ryan glanced at him when he started talking. “You know? I mean, it's not like the jobs that we tend to have explain it already. Detective, fire fighter, FBI agent. We're the types that get killed on the job. But then, there's your mom, and Max's mom, and Aunt Beth and....” He swiped and turned over before trying to continue. “We just wanted something to blame. Does that make sense?”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah, it does.”

He played around with the sports drink, not drinking. “Is it sad that I almost thought it didn't apply to me? I didn't....Losing Uncle Ray and Aunt Teri didn't hurt as much as it did Max. There was no one really close. Then this case came up and I lost Troy, Mom and Aunt Beth. Almost lost you twice, almost lost Max. Is that stupid, to want to be excluded from it?”

He didn't know what to say. Mike hadn't grown up along with many deaths hanging over his head. Now that he had experiencing so many within a short amount of time, it was tearing him apart. Ryan felt his pain more heavily. “No, it's not sad,” he muttered, “And it's not stupid.”

-

Mendez came by about eleven days after her death. Ryan was the one to answer the door while Mike and Max argued about what was going into pancakes and scrambled fake eggs. She didn't stay long, just told Ryan the information to pass along to Mike and left to get back to the search for Lily Gray and her remaining free son.

He came back just as they decided on what to mix in. “What was that about?” Max asked, flipping two pancakes and wincing at her work.

“Mendez,” he said, and immediately got their attention, “Nothing's happened in the case. They're releasing Beth's body to Mike.”

Mentioned man stared at the eggs he was moving around. “Makes no sense. Why would they release her to me?” he mumbled.

“Apparently, she wished it. There's a lawyer that's going to be coming around at some point,” Ryan said, “She made a will, just after Debra's death.” Mike didn't take that well, leaving his post and hiding in the bathroom. Max gave Ryan a questioning glance, but he shook his head. He rejoined them just after everything was served, slightly reddish eyes that made it look more like an allergy reaction had happened instead. He played with his food before managing to eat it while Max and Ryan were talking about things around him.

A day spent looking for leads in both Carroll and Gray passed and Max ended up leaving to actually be with her boyfriend, a development that had Mike interrogating for information before she was able to get away with Ryan's help. Sitting in front of the TV with it at low volume, Mike was playing with a mug filled with melted marshmallow and packet cocoa. Ryan's mug was half gone, but his was still filled. Something was on his mind. “What's wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing's.... nothing's wrong, it's just....” He stirred while trying to think of what he wanted. “Their parents. Mom's and Beth's, my grandparents. Who's telling them about Beth's death?”

“I don't know.”

Mike played a bit more. “I think.... I think I should,” he stated. Ryan turned to him. “They probably won't be visited by an officer, and if they were.... I don't know.” It took him a minute to come up with it. “Beth told them about Mom's death. I should tell them about hers.”

Ryan ventured out on a thought. “You want to meet them.”

“I....” He nodded. “You know, maybe, a little.” 

Ryan was uneasy about Mike knowing about his grandparents. Debra hadn't wanted him knowing the exact reasons why he didn't carry either of their names. The first time he had gotten old enough to ask about it, they were both in the FBI and used that as the reason. There had been maybe a couple of questions after. Easily deflected, Mike had never found the necklace that she still carried to remind her. As far as either knew.

After Mike went to sleep, he went to the room and shut the door. Ryan shifted through until he found the items he wanted, tucked away in the far corner of a cabinet drawer. The file was opened first before he sat down to reread it again and refresh things. It hurt a bit to be seeing things in Debra's handwriting as she described the cult she and her family had grown up in, and the two that stayed.

He was deep in the official reports that she managed to copy and get out when he heard the door being opened. He gazed up to Mike's mostly tired face. “Whaddya doing?” he slurred.

“Just looking at a file,” Ryan whispered, “You should get back to sleep.”

He shook his head. “Can't. Is it about the case?”

“No.” At the unbelieving look, he reiterated, “It's not about Joe or Lily.”

“Then, what?”

He thought about it for a minute before picking it up and sitting over on the couch, so Mike could read along side him. Debra would have killed him, but he needed to understand if he was still to go on with the idea of visiting her parents. “Come here,” he motioned. Confused, Mike sat down next to him. “Mom didn't want to know about this part of her life, but you want to visit them, and you need to know.” He handed over the first packet, the one of FBI files on the place.

He read a little bit of it, his confusion growing until he started seeing reports. Things started piecing together in startling connection, seeing his mother's work along with a few others. After a few minutes, he stopped. “Dad, was Mom in a cult?”

“Yeah.”

He read for a few more minutes. “I don't.... I....” He couldn't get it out, reading the stories and linking everything together fast. What he thought about made him pale. “Mom was.... assaulted by him.” It wasn't really a question, but he hummed yes. “Did she run right after it happened, or....”

Ryan explained, “She had to wait a few weeks, to avoid suspicion. Her mother forced her back to him. Her father.... He wouldn't go against, but he comforted her after it happened. He didn't like it, but wouldn't stop it. When she left, she smuggled out Beth as well.” He had the bag, rolling it around, before opening it and bringing out the necklace. “This was given to her, as part of the 'ritual' and accepted as an adult.”

He stared at it for a minute, examining it as if it was evidence from a case. He rolled it around, thinking about how a small item probably kept bringing back dark memories for his Mom and why she would have kept it. “The tree of life,” he murmured, “Used by countless old religions and cultures to explain out the physical world was connected to underworlds and the afterlife. Perverted by this man that says that he needs to have sex with female teenagers.”

The older man knew he was taking it a bit hard. _Debra, I wish you had allowed yourself to explain this to him. He needs to hear it from you._ “She thought she could help,” he said, “Since she knew what they did, how the leaders acted, how former members acted, she could approach with understanding.” Ryan took the files, Mike focused on the pendant that he could organize them and close them. “Her parents found out she was pregnant. She worried, that if you were a girl, that they would have stolen you, raised you themselves. Apparently, they lost standing in the cult when she ran.”

“And if I had been a girl, I would have been an offering to him.”

“Yeah.”

“That's the real reason why my last name's Weston, isn't it?”

“Yeah.” Mike gave the necklace back to him, and without objection, placed everything back in the same place. He made sure he showed exactly where it went, so he could come back and find it again. Then, Ryan got him up and led him back to the living room. He hit the couch he was staying on, lying down and staring at the off TV. The older man messed with his son's hair and was sleepily hit away. “Night, Mike.”

“Night, Dad.”

-

Mike had to focus on getting ready for Beth's funeral. Since he was the only living relative that she had contact with, it fell on him to get everything done. He had to find a funeral home to prep her body, afford a casket, get a burial site, find someone to read rites....

“Breath, Mike,” Ryan interrupted, wrapping an arm around him and getting his attention. The information he had been reading dropped on the coffee table and he rubbed his face and hair to sort himself out. “Come on, go pack for an overnight trip.” He looked up at him, confused. “We're going to Serenity Hills.”

Serenity Hills. The place where Mom and Beth grew up.

Iowa was damp, but not raining. Ryan apparently knew enough from Debra to drive to the little area. He didn't know what to expect when they drove up to the land where the cult was set up. Mike still didn't believe his mother had once been here and then went into the ARU after her experiences. Okay, he could, he had done the same thing with Joe Carroll. He wanted to know about the man that attacked his Dad. But to relive some of the worst times of her life and to possibly keep reliving it with every case that crossed her desk?

The commune looked normal. He felt tense around it. The buildings and people made it feel like a village instead of the cult that he knew it to be. Several glanced at them when they got out of the car and looked around. Mike spotted the leader, seeing the power that he held over the people around. Ryan was the one approached by him. “My name's Dale, can I help you folks?” he inquired.

“Yeah, we need to talk to the Parkers,” he said.

“About?” He looked over at Mike and puzzled for a minute, trying to place him. Mike felt uneasy with the attention. 

“Family matter,” he evaded. Ryan knew why the man was looking at Mike, and he wasn't liking it, even if Debra had confided in him he only liked girls and women. He apparently took it at that, asking one of the people to lead the Parkers to a common area. He kept analyzing Mike as they were led to a little meeting center of sorts. He pointed out a couple in the corner of the room before excusing himself and walking away.

Ryan recognized Debra's eyes from her mother, cheekbones from her father. Both had looked over at Mike in curiosity. He knew they could see it, even if it standing next to him just highlight their connection more. “Hi, I'm Ryan,” he introduced, holding out his hand to shake with either one.

The man actually took it to a little surprise. The woman just continued to stare at the two of them. “Mike,” he said, also shaking hands.

The four of them sat down and her mother decided to start. “Beth's gone, isn't she?” she asked.

Mike nodded, “Yeah, she.... died a couple of weeks ago.” He had to force himself to confront them. “Beth told you about Mom's death, so I figured it was only right for me to tell you about hers.” If the two only had speculation, now they had confirmation. “Yes, I'm Debra's son.”

Her father had a sort of sorrow but joy at the same time. Ryan remembered how Debra talked about her father being more connected to the girls. Her mother wasn't as happy. _She had been the one that pushed Debra back to the room. She's probably more invested in the community and the leader._ “You're the father?” she assumed.

“Yes, I am,” he said.

“What happened to Beth?” the man asked.

“She was murdered,” Mike explained, a little of the pain coming back up, “She was killed a couple of weeks ago. I did something that angered someone and they took it out on her. I'm sorry.” The last part was bit off and he had to wipe his eyes.

“A couple of weeks ago?” she inquired.

He nodded, “Yeah. I've been preparing arrangements for the funeral. It's being held...”

“We're not going,” she stated.

Ryan didn't seem surprised, considering they probably held her in the same regard as they did Debra. Mike was the same, but he was saddened a little more. “Is, is there anything you want?” he inquired, “I'm going to be going through her things, and Mom's. There might be a couple copies of them together, if you want something.”

She immediately shook her head, but her husband didn't. The woman walked off, so she wouldn't have to hear whatever he was going to ask for. “I'd like a picture. Of the two of them. I haven't seen Debra since she visited and Beth only came after her death last year,” he mentioned.

Ryan almost asked if there was a mailing address they could send it, before Mike pulled out a folded copy he had in his pocket. “It's a little bent,” he warned. It was one taken just before the start of the case last year, on Debra's birthday. Mike took that photo, surprising her before she could object. Then, Beth took one of her and Mike before they asked someone to get one of all three of them.

The small amount of bending didn't take his joy out of it. “Thank you.” He said goodbye on the behalf of her, knowing that Mike or Ryan probably wouldn't visit again. They walked back out to the car, where several people were watching them again. Mike heard a couple of the whispers and knew it had gotten out that Debra was his mother. Dale, who they expected to intercept them, wasn't seen and Mike wondered if he was talking to his 'grandmother' over the new relation.

Back at the small hotel, Mike waited a minute before hugging Ryan. He wrapped around him, rubbing his back slightly. “Not what you expected?” he mumbled.

“No, it was. I just hoped it wouldn't be like that,” he answered.

-

Mike had to go down a couple of days before the funeral. Max and Ryan were just going to head down for the day, but he had to be down there for last minute items and meetings with friends of Beth's. He asked two others to be ball bearers, himself and his father each taking a side. A woman offered her and her husband's home to hold the wake. Everything was set and he didn't have to worry about things unless it decided to storm.

He woke up to a crisp, cold day and had a violent reminder that winter was coming. After making unspiked coffee and eating something to keep his stomach from growling, he dressed and was messing with his tie when Max knocked on the front door. “Hey,” she said.

“Hi,” he mumbled, stepping aside. Ryan also followed her in, pulling him close and kissing him on the forehead. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey,” he said, “Need help?”

“No, I...” he sighed, holding the ends and then dropping his hands so his father could tie it and straighten it for him. “I'm not ready for this.”

Ryan frowned, “No one is.” The two of them just stood until Max had to bump them out of the house.

**Author's Note:**

> And there was me wanting to yell at Ryan on the behalf of Mike. So, that's in there.


End file.
